News of the Day ... In Perspective

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New Orleans issued a temporary restraining order last month on behalf of the Second Amendment Foundation and the National Rifle Association, ending arbitrary firearm seizures from citizens living in and around New Orleans.

Defendants in the suit included New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Chief Edwin Compass III.

“Residents who had lost virtually everything in the devastation following Hurricane Katrina had also been stripped of something even more precious, their civil rights, and their right of self defense,” stated SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb.

Gottlieb called for New Orleans authorities to explain how they will return the firearms to their rightful owners.

After the federal court stopped the gun seizures, Mayor Nagin’s office scrambled to distance itself from statements made by Compass and Deputy Chief Warren Riley that only the police would be allowed to have guns, and everyone else would be disarmed.

Compass abruptly announced his retirement. Other issues surrounding his tenure included a rising murder rate in New Orleans, desertions by officers, alleged participation in looting by the police, and continuing problems of corruption within the department, according to Gottlieb.

“Nobody has admitted to being the source of the disarmament order,” said Gottlieb
(www.saf.org).